Lake Nakuru National Park
Lake Nakuru is one of the Rift Valley soda
lakes. It lies to the south of Nakuru, in central Kenya and is
protected by a small Lake Nakuru National Park. The lake's
abundance of algae attracts the vast quantity of flamingos that
famously lines the shore. Other birds also flourish in the area,
as do warthogs, baboons and other large mammals. Black and White
rhinos have also been introduced. The lake's level dropped
dramatically in the early 1990s but has since largely recovered.
Nakuru means "Dust or Dusty Place" in Masai language. Lake
Nakuru National Park, close to Nakuru town, was established in
1961. It started off small, only encompassing the famous lake
and the surrounding mountainous vicinity. Now it has been
extended to include a large part of the savannahs.
Lake Nakuru National Park is best known for its thousands,
sometimes millions of flamingos nesting along the shores. The
surface of the shallow lake is often hardly recognizable due to
continually shifting mass of pink. The number of flamingoes on
the lake varies with water and food conditions and the best
vantage point is from Baboon Cliff. Also of interest is an area
of 188 km around the lake fenced off as a sanctuary to protect
Rothschild giraffes, black rhinos and white rhinos.
The park has recently been enlarged partly to provide the
sanctuary for the black rhino. This undertaking has necessitated
a fence - to keep out poachers rather than to restrict the
movement of wildlife. The park marches for 12.1 km on the south
eastern boundary with the Soysambu conservancy which represents
a possible future expansion of habitat for the rhinos and the
only remaining wildlife corridor to Lake Naivasha.
The park now the largest concentrations of Rhinos in the Kenya,
plus around 70 white rhinos. There are also a number of
Rothschild's giraffe, again translocated for safety from western
Kenya beginning in 1977. Waterbuck are very common and both the
Kenyan species are found here. Among the predators are lion and
leopard, the latter being seen much more frequently in recent
times. The park also has large sized pythons that inhabit the
dense woodlands, and can often be seen crossing the roads or
dangling from trees.
Bongo Safari choice of Safari camps and Lodges in Lake Nakuru National Park
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